Olympics 2024: Team GB win cycling and diving medals on day one in Paris as Adam Peaty continues threepeat bid | Olympics News
Team GB won their first opening-day Olympic medals in 20 years as they took silver and bronze on the first day of Paris 2024.
Divers Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen got Great Britain up and running with a bronze medal – via dramatic circumstances – in the women’s 3m synchronised springboard.
The pair took advantage of a final-round slip from the Australia pair to became the first British women to win an Olympic medal in diving since Elizabeth Ferris won bronze in the 10m platform in Rome in 1960, with the success the first opening-day medal for Team GB since the 2004 games in Athens.
Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen secured bronze in the women’s 3m synchronised diving event, just hours into the first official day of the 2024 Olympics.
Cyclist Anna Henderson followed up with silver in the women’s time trial, where several riders crashed in the treacherous conditions, as the Hemel Hempstead-born rider kept her cool to claim second behind Australian Grace Brown.
Early medals for Team GB
Henderson clocked a time of 41 minutes 10.7 seconds over the 32.4km course through the centre of Paris, one minute 31 seconds down on Brown’s gold medal-winning ride.
Chloe Dygert was among those to hit the deck and that proved critical as she lost the 15-second advantage she had held over Henderson at the first intermediate time check and came home nine tenths of a second off the Brit’s time.
“I didn’t realise how slippery it was out there until I was on the course,” Henderson said. “I thought I could lose a whole Olympic Games on one corner here, so really take control and gain all of the time in the straights.”
Mew Jensen admitted it was “crazy” to have secured Team GB’s first medal of Paris 2024, having plummeted down the scoreboard into sixth after scoring 63.90 in the third round.
Team GB’s Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen give their reaction after securing bronze in the women’s 3m synchronised diving event at the 2024 Olympics.
Team GB scored 71.10 in the next effort to claw their way back into fourth place and added a solid 70.68 in the fifth round, before a dramatic twist of events saw Anabelle Smith slip on the diving board during her take-off and leave Australia short of the required total for bronze.
“I don’t think I can quite believe it,” Mew Jensen said. “I’m super proud of Yas, super proud of myself and super proud of the team. We’ve worked insanely hard and couldn’t have come out with a better outcome, so really happy.”
Peaty remains on course for historic threepeat
Adam Peaty remains on course for a historic third Olympic title in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke as he set up a tantalising showdown against Qin Haiyang in Sunday’s final.
Adam Peaty will feature in the 100m breaststroke final on Sunday evening
Both won their respective semi-finals but it is Peaty who has the psychological upper hand after clocking 58.86 seconds, which was 0.07 secs quicker than his Chinese rival at La Defense Arena.
The 29-year-old is seeking to become just the second male swimmer after Michael Phelps to win Olympic gold at three successive Games, having triumphed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, while compatriot James Wilby was unable to join him in the final after finishing 0.11s outside the top eight qualifying times.
Adam Peaty says winning a third individual gold medal would be his greatest achievement and he’s hinted that this year’s games could be his last.
Peaty’s performance took the sting out of a disappointing night in the pool for Team GB as the men’s and women’s 4x100m freestyle relay teams finished outside the podium positions.
Matt Richards, Jacob Whittle, Tom Dean and Duncan Scott finished fifth for the men, 2.33s behind the winners United States, while Anna Hopkin, Eva Okaro, Lucy Hope and Freya Anderson came in seventh, 6.33 behind gold medallists Australia.
Which other Brits were in action?
Max Whitlock was one of a record-breaking number of eight British male gymnasts to seal their places in individual finals, with Jake Jarman and Luke Whitehouse through on floor, Harry Hepworth on rings, Hepworth and Jarman on vault, and Jarman and Joe Fraser in the all-around.
Favourite Olympics memory? Dream athlete to chat to? Get to know Max Whitlock, the most successful gymnast in British history, ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The respective successes of Hepworth and Jarman also mean it will be the first time in history that Great Britain has been represented in either a vault or rings final at the Olympics.
Great Britain’s men’s hockey players romped to a 4-0 Pool A win over Spain as they opened their bid for Olympic hockey gold in some style, with Gareth Furlong scoring twice and Nick Park and Rupert Shipperley completing the scoring.
Josh Tarling finished in fourth in the men’s time trial, just two seconds off a medal, following an early puncture.
In equestrian, it was a record-breaking day for Team GB’s eventers, as Laura Collett and her horse London 52 made the lowest individual Olympic score in the eventing dressage with 17.50. Team GB scored 66.70 overall, which is also an Olympic record.
Badminton players Ben Lane and Sean Vendy lost their opening men’s doubles match to Malaysia, while boxer Charley Davison was knocked out via split decision in her round of 32 bantamweight clash.
What else happened on day one?
Antoine Dupont described France’s Olympic rugby sevens gold as “sensational and unbelievable”, with his match-winning contribution seeing Les Blues fight back from an early deficit to claim a 28-7 success and inflict Fiji’s first defeat in Olympic competition.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz launched their blockbuster partnership in style with victory over sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni at Roland Garros, claiming a 7-6 (4) 6-4 first-round victory in the men’s doubles.
Nadal still had strapping on his right thigh and it remains to be seen whether the 14-time French Open champion will contest his scheduled singles match against Marton Fucsovics on Sunday, with the Spaniard admitting he was unsure whether he would feature.
Watch an extended interview with Andy Murray as he prepares for his final ever tennis tournament. He explains his decision to retire, what he will do next and why the Olympics was the perfect place to say farewell.
Novak Djokovic criticised Olympic entry rules after a one-sided victory over Matthew Ebden in the opening round at a rainy Roland Garros, having taken just 53 minutes to defeat the Australian alternate 6-0 6-1.
“I really don’t understand the rules, they’re really not logical for me,” Djokovic said. “I don’t think it’s a good image for the sport, to be honest. There were a lot of singles players that had plenty of time, that were alternates, that could have been called to come.”
How to follow the Olympics on Sky
Keep up to date with the action from the Paris 2024 Olympics across Sky Sports’ digital platforms and Sky Sports News every day between now and Sunday August 11.
Alongside live news blogs and updates as records are broken and medals won on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app, Sky Sports News will also have dedicated reporters on the scene in Paris during the Games to gather the latest news both inside and outside the arenas in France as well as reaction to the big moments from medal winners, coaches, relatives and pundits.
Launching this August, Sky Sports+ will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Stream The new EFL season, Test cricket and more top sport with NOW.
